Hands-On with Rampage: Total Destruction

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The arcade classic is back, and in full 3D.

By Tom McNamara

In such a turbulent industry, one assumes that a given publisher hasn't been around for all that long. But Midway has a long legacy at the arcade, and it's not just Mortal Kombat, which they got from rival Acclaim many years back. Let's not forget Rampage, the lighthearted Godzilla simulator that had you and a potential buddy team up to demolish New York, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, and other famous cities. Or at least a few city blocks. And while we've seen several console versions since it debuted at the arcade, Total Destruction is the first one that's been redone for three dimensions. And although it was announced only for the GameCube and PS2, we played a build on an Xbox at a recent Midway event in Hollywood, and it looked sharper than the previously released screenshots.

Overall, R:TD retains the fundamental gameplay we've come to know and love from the series. You bash the crap out of buildings until they fall down, you kick and smash things on the road, and you pick up power-ups, health, power-downs (oops, toxic sludge!), and people from various multi-storied buildings. Our favorite trick is still picking up trolleys and downing the passengers like potato chips. Additionally, you'll unlock a roster of dozens of monsters, all of whom have differing speed, power, and damage soaking capabilities. In addition to George, Lizzie and Ralph, you also get Godzilla-sized rats, werewolves, sea monsters, lions, demons, and others. As you progress through the single-player campaign, you'll also unlock a small movelist for each character. There's also a single-player timed mode, and you can battle out "King of the City" and "King of the World" with a buddy. You'll traipse through the now-familiar list of famous cities, and the addition of 3D allows you access to two different streets and two ranks of buildings.

If putting Rampage in a 3D environment doesn't sound compelling enough to you, they'll be offering the title at $19.99, and keep your eyes peeled for the review when the game ships in April.